We’re Still Waiting, Hartz

 

Hello Hartz,

Can you believe it has almost been 4 months?

How have you been? Busy?

We don’t mean to be pains, but, we just wanted to remind you we’re still waiting on some things:

 

 

You remember Federal Express tracking #799809068158, don’t you?

That’s the number you provided the EPA with for a document you claim was delivered to the USEPA in Edison, New Jersey on February 26, 2008 in response to the EPA stating they did not receive a report from you for the calendar year 2007 on or before March 1st, 2008.

We know the EPA decided to drop the fine they had levied upon you, solely for the purposes of settlement, but we’d still very much like to take a look at this evidence for ourselves, if you don’t mind.

Also, as you know, we are quite resourceful when it comes to mining the internet for information about you, but we have been unable to find any photos of the Hartz Ultraguard OneSpot Flea Egg and Flea Larvae Treatment for Cats and Kittens (EPA# 2596-147) to match up with the version of 2596-147 we purchased at Rite Aid.

This detail still puzzles us and any information you could provide to help us get to the bottom of this little “anomaly” would be greatly appreciated.

Well, we’ll let you go for now.

Those lies don’t write themselves and we know you’ve got paychecks to cash.

=^..^=

“The Rite Aid Affair”, Now Available

If you are one of the many participating in the Black March Boycott, you’ll be happy to know Broken Hartz is serving up heaping bowls of free entertainment today.

Many of you have been wondering about the email correspondences our affiliate had with Rite Aid, so we’ve gleefully posted them. These messages tell the story of how Broken Hartz came to be and make for interesting, as well as amusing, reading.

Grab some popcorn and click here.

Not So Easily Dismissed

---

Click this link for the previous article in our Hartz “Executive Summary” exposé: “Misinformation on the Internet”

---

Attention Hartz Mountain Corporation.

You defiantly threw a pack-of-lies at our affiliate; delivered by your lapdog, Rite Aid Corporation.

Decades of successfully escaping culpability have left you fat and complacent, believing you can act with wanton disregard for public safety, profiting from the anguish, injuries and deaths of untold numbers of defenseless, beloved pets.

You have blamed the public, but that bitterly deceptive pill has become too hard to swallow.

Broken Hartz rejects your version of history, your lies about the EPA’s Public Advisory published in March 2010, your lies about the FDA-approved status of competitor products, your figures and your vulgar assortment of additional “data”.

We have shined the light on your corrupt organization and laid waste to your multi-billion dollar army of planned deception; led by your unscrupulous mouthpiece, Dr. Melinda Fernyhough, and now we call the “good doctor” to the floor.

Dr. Melinda Fernyhough, this website is filled with many quotes that should be quite familiar to you, but we’d like to introduce one more:

 

---

(Veterinarian’s Oath)

“Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.

I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.”

---

 

You have forsaken your oath in favor of an ever-increasing bank account. You originated Hartz’ “Executive Summary of EPA Evaluation of Pet Spot-On Products” and, therefore, you have been the focus of our most-uncomfortable attention.

---

You are a disgrace to your claimed profession and Broken Hartz has begun the process of seeking revocation of your license for crimes against those you have sworn to protect, those who cannot speak for themselves.

Hartz Mountain Corporation, at the beginning of this particular instance of negligent behavior, you lied to our affiliate behind closed doors, but now Hartz has done something inexplicably brazen by proudly broadcasting Dr. Melinda’s lies to the world.

We do not pretend to fully understand this action, but something is clearly brewing in Secaucus, NJ. Immediately after reading this post, you have scrambled to hide this page, pathetically assuming a simple change of file location could thwart us, but the information has been archived. You will not escape the truth.

The damage is done. That which has been seen cannot be unseen. Cybersquatting on our domain names will do nothing to stop us. The public grows wiser everyday. This information is now preserved for history; indelible, unwavering. With time, countless individuals will come to know thetruthabouthartz.

---

You escaped punishment for decades in a world free from the watchful eye of the internet collective, but circumstances have changed and you will not escape the court of public opinion much longer. Your time of lying in wait on store shelves is coming to an end.

Alea jacta est.

=^..^=

Misuse or Mislabeling?

---

Click this link for the previous article in our Hartz “Executive Summary” exposé: Dr. Charles T. Gaskins, Dr. Melinda Fernyhough and a Little Thing Called Conflict of Interest

---

Over the years, one of the most common arguments you’d hear Hartz make is that of consumer misuse of their products.

Hartz has continually attempted to shift blame for the deaths of these beloved animals onto pet owners. Essentially, Hartz claims consumers are just too stupid to use their products properly, adding insult to overwhelming injury. These unfortunate individuals loved their pets like family and the only mistake they made with the Hartz product was buying it in the first place.

Of course, its no surprise Hartz tried to make a false-use argument in their “Executive Summary” document.

(Hartz’ Executive Summary of EPA Review of Pet Spot-On Incidents, Page 1, Bulleted Section 1, Bullet 3)

“In cats, an important problem was the application on cats of products labeled for dogs.”

Not only was this irrelevant to our affiliate’s case, we think a more important point in this particular problem can be made by referencing the EPA’s DATA EVALUATION RECORD FOR ENHANCED SPOT-ON REPORTING DOG PRODUCT for the Hartz UltraGuard™ Flea & Tick Drops for Dogs and Puppies (EPA Registration Number 2596-151):

(EPA DATA EVALUATION RECORD FOR ENHANCED SPOT-ON REPORTING DOG PRODUCT: 2596-151, Page 2, Paragraph 8, Sentence 4)

“It appears from the available information that 5 of the incidents reported for 2008 involved a discontinued product that was labeled for use on cats or kittens: however, the other four incidents could be as a result of misuse.”

The above referenced document can be found here.

The discontinued version of Hartz’ 2596-151 product was supposed to be removed from distribution by March 31, 2006; but it was still on store shelves and killing animals two years later. If Hartz and their distributors would do a better job of keeping discontinued dog product that is improperly labeled for use on cats and kittens off shelves, it would go far in alleviating this very dangerous issue.

This expired product revelation prompted our affiliate to further research the product, purchased from Rite Aid, bearing EPA Registration Number 2596-147. It was discovered this product has had many issues throughout its history, including a possible packaging mix-up in late 1999. The EPA reported on this in its “Review of Incident Data for Four Hartz Mountain Flea and Tick Control Products (2596-146, -147, -148 and -150)”

In this report, the EPA states:

(EPA Review of Incident Data for Four Hartz Mountain Flea and Tick Control Products (2596-146, -147, -148 and -150, Page 3, Paragraph 4)

“There was some evidence of possible packaging mix-up in the incident data. Based on internal communication, it is possible that the dog product 2596-146 was accidently [sic] placed into packaging for the cat product 2596-147.”

The EPA cites one of the many internal email messages between Hartz personnel in regards to this possible packaging mix-up:

(EPA Review of Incident Data for Four Hartz Mountain Flea and Tick Control Products (2596-146, -147, -148 and -150, Page 14, Paragraph 3 [This is from an internal Hartz’ email])

“On Tuesday 12/7/99 at 9:35am the One Spot packaging line changed over from Cat One Spot 97557 to One Spot f/Dogs<15lbs. 97835. It appears that an improper line clearance was performed (line clearance procedure went into effect June of ’99) resulting in the product coming onto the line (97835) while packaging materials for 97557 were still in the machines.”

In page 15 of this same document, the EPA declares both Companion Animal Safety Studies submitted by Hartz for 2596-147, as well as the Companion Animal Safety Study for 2596-148 to have been unacceptable.

Interesting…

As usual, more to come.

---

Click this link for the next article in our Hartz “Executive Summary” exposé: Let’s Get “Technical”

---

Rite Aid Corporation Still in Bed with Hartz

---

Click this link for the previous article in our Hartz “Executive Summary” exposé: Hartz Claims Advantage Doesn’t Have FDA Approved Drugs

---

Until now, Broken Hartz had not revealed Rite Aid Corporation as being the distributor involved in the particular case we’ve been discussing. This was done to allow Rite Aid time to assess the information provided by our affiliate and determine its position in this matter.

Yesterday (2/20/12), Rite Aid responded with a clear desire to continue its unethical business partnership with Hartz Mountain Corporation. Given Rite Aid’s unique history with Hartz, this decision comes as no surprise.

Rite Aid Corporation is widely-accepted as one of the most corrupt corporations in the country. The Company seems to have an endless file of lawsuits and general grievances from the public as well as its employees. They have been known to sell expired condoms, baby formula and infant medications. Given their lack of concern for human life, it’s no wonder this unscrupulous corporation exhibits no regard for animal safety. This is very concerning to our affiliate because there is good reason to suspect Rite Aid sold an anomalous version of the Hartz product purchased.

In the April 18, 2000 issue of Fortune Magazine, the Rite Aid board of directors was named one of the six worst in the United States and do you know who happened to be on that board? Mr. Leonard Stern.

In case our readers are unaware, Leonard Stern’s father founded Hartz Mountain Corporation. Leonard took over the business in 1959 and was the head of Hartz until 2000. Leonard Stern was also on the Rite Aid Board of Directors from the mid-nineties to 2001.

Mr. Stern was fiercely engaged in his role as a board member of Rite Aid when the drugstore chain was involved in shady accounting practices, including overstating net income by $1 billion over two years. Mr. Stern was also named in a class action in which investors claimed that he and other directors had breached their fiduciary duty to shareholders. The company settled in 2000.

In 1999, Kevin Mann (the son of Rite Aid’s original founder and former Executive Vice President) alleged Leonard Stern used his influence to increase shelf space in Rite Aid stores for Hartz’ pet products at the expense of competitors. Rite Aid Corporation settled that suit in 1999 for $11 million. Companies don’t just settle for $11 million and we at Broken Hartz take this as a clear admission of guilt.

Mr. Stern maintained his position on Rite Aid’s board until resigning of his own accord in late 2001. Current members of Rite Aid’s board served with Leonard Stern and we have no doubt Rite Aid and Hartz are still close partners. This is backed up by our own investigation of all local Rite Aids in our area. None of these stores carry any pesticide products other than Hartz. In fact, these locations typically carried half-an-aisle of Hartz products.

Our affiliate had become aware of this interesting relationship between Hartz and Rite Aid during correspondence with the Company, but chose to keep silent about this detail and see how Rite Aid behaved when presented with irrefutable evidence of their beloved manufacturer’s unscrupulous behavior.

To say Rite Aid’s Senior Counsel completely underestimated our affiliate and botched this particular case wherever possible would be an understatement. He and Rite Aid’s board dismissed our affiliate and tried to excuse themselves from the matter, unconscionably denying their own Code of Ethics document, neglecting to review the solid information provided by the affiliate and making the ultimate mistake of sharing Hartz’ “Executive Summary of EPA Evaluation of Pet Spot-On Products”, no doubt imagining the 6 1/2-page document would overwhelm our affiliate.

When presented with our affiliate’s 35-page rebuttal to Hartz’ “Summary” document, Rite Aid’s Senior Counsel decided reading the document would be too much work. Instead, he chose to shoot off a reckless, poorly-constructed response (consisting of five sentences and two typos) in such a short time from opening the email he could not possibly have bothered to read the information provided and make any attempt to assess the validity of the affiliate’s argument. If he had, he surely would not have dared to respond in the manner he did.

A quick, ten minute internet search is all it took to unearth the links, concerning Rite Aid, found below. You’ll find cases of racial and religious discrimination, consumer fraud,  disability discrimination, improper treatment of workers, unpaid overtime and even Rite Aid’s attempt to bully a terminally-ill, 77 year old Korean War Veteran over some forgotten sardines.

• The Rite Aid Sucks Blog
• Some Less-Than-Stellar Reviews of Rite Aid
• Rite Aid and NYPD Embarrass and Arrest Innocent Woman
• War Vet Sued by Rite Aid Over Misunderstanding
• Rite Aid Religious Discrimination Suit (for whatever reason, you may need to click this link more than once)
• Rite Aid Disability Discrimination Suit
• Consumer Fraud One
• Rite Aid Tries to Avoid Paying Overtime
• Consumer Fraud Two
• Rite Aid Employee Awarded More Than $8 Million for Wrongful Termination
• Rite Aid Fails to Protect Patient Info
• Rite Aid Racial Discrimination (for whatever reason, you may need to click this link more than once)

This list could go on and on, but we at Broken Hartz think the point has been made. Sorry, Rite Aid Senior Counsel. It seems like you really screwed up this one.

Maybe you should stick to riding your ATV.

We may get into Rite Aid more in the future, and will also be updating previous posts to mention Rite Aid specifically, but we’ll get back to Hartz in our next post.

---

Click this link for the next article in our Hartz “Executive Summary” exposé: More Fun with Charts!

---

Proof of Hartz’ “Commitment” to Providing Factual Information

Through a correspondence between some Broken Hartz affiliates who experienced a problem with a Hartz Spot-On Flea Product and a distributor whose position regarding Hartz products remains to be seen Rite Aid Corporation; a document, authored by Dr. Melinda Fernyhough, Hartz’ Manager of Scientific Affairs and Resident Veterinarian (at least for a little while longer, anyway) was produced. To save Dr. Melinda the embarrassment of claiming she didn’t author this, we provide this screenshot of the document’s properties:

The seven page document is filled with bold lies and makes for very interesting reading, to say the least. We plan to share more of this document in future posts but, today, we will address this particular section:

 “Unfortunatley [sic], there is a lot of misinformation on the internet about flea and tick products. Hartz is working constantly to offer factual information about flea and tick products, including a [sic] education tab on our Facebook page that will link you directly to the EPA website for accurate, independent information.”

We agree with Hartz. There is a lot of “misinformation on the internet”, however, we feel the source of misinformation comes from them, not the public.

Hartz has no interest in providing factual information, which brings us to Hartz.com’s Press Releases page:

At the start of our investigation, a couple of weeks ago, this page featured links to twelve different press releases. We clicked through every press release link and found three of the twelve links did not work.

One broken link was to an article called “Nature’s Collection Fundraiser” and the other two non-functioning links were, conveniently enough, “Hartz recalls Naturals® beef treats” and “EPA Flea & Tick Topical Advisory Update”.

Here is the complete list of Press Release links as well as screenshots for reference. You’ll notice the “Nature’s Collection Fundraiser” link works although, until today (2/18/12) and evidenced by our screenshot, this was not the case:

Hartz’ Unicharm Press Release

---

Hartz’ Pet Week Press Release

---

Hartz’ Examiner Press Release

---

Hartz’ Dog Training Release

---

Hartz’ “Broken” Naturals Recall Press Release

---

Hartz’ Pet Dental Health Press Release

---

Hartz’ Crunch ‘N Clean Press Release

---

Hartz’ “Broken” EPA Advisory Press Release

---

Hartz’ Shelter Donation Press Release

---

Hartz’ Nature’s Collection Press Release was broken until (2/18/12). It has since come down again. A very odd history for this little guy.

---

Hartz’ Nodor Press Release

---

Hartz’ Wounded Warrior Press Release

---

Before going into the next portion, we at Broken Hartz wish to mention we have more than twenty-five years combined experience in web design.

Upon discovering these “broken links”, we decided to research the cause of the malfunctions. To do this, we analyzed the source data for the Hartz.com Press Releases page. You may need to click on the image below to zoom in and get a better look:

The picture above shows the “links” portion of the markup from Hartz’ Press Releases page. These links are used to direct users to the appropriate press release when clicked. A quick review of the links portion of the page showed the three broken links had no defects in the way they had been written. This is further proven by the fact the above “Nature’s Collection Fundraiser” link now works, even though its coding has not changed from the time of our investigation. The point is: there is nothing wrong with these links. They are intentionally broken and Broken Hartz can prove it.

We suspected the “Nature’s Collection Fundraiser” link “error” was planted so it would not be as blatantly obvious that Hartz was hiding the more unsavory press releases from the public’s eye, so we started there. We put our knowledge of how the internet works to use and were able to find a version of the missing “Nature’s Collection Fundraiser” press release on an alternate version of the Hartz.com website:

Hartz’ Broken then Fixed then Re-Broken Nature’s Collection Press Release
(Since the release of this post, Hartz deleted this extra version of the Nature’s Collection link and fixed the link on their main site for a few weeks before intentionally breaking the link again, but the screenshot above displays the web-address where this article was originally uncovered. This particular press release has had an intriguing history.)

---

Now that we had found this press release, it was time to move on to the others. We tried many different ways to locate the missing “Hartz recalls Naturals® beef treats” but were unsuccessful. That wasn’t the case when it came to the “EPA Flea & Tick Topical Advisory Update” press release, however:

Hartz’ Fixed EPA Advisory Press Release
(The link above functioned until 2/21/12. Click here for the screenshot.

For more details on what happened, click here.)

---

Here is a zoomed in view of this very interesting press release:

Hartz considers consumers to be "dummies". This must be why they thought "dummy text" would be appropriate for this press release.

---

The discovery of this bogus article speaks volumes. Hartz clearly has no intention of offering factual information about flea and tick products.

Actually, since compiling this information, we have been checking Hartz’ Press Releases page to see if this truly was intentional or an honest mistake. Today (February 18, 2012), more than two weeks from us noticing these “errors”, Hartz has finally paid some attention to its Press Releases page.

Hartz’ Press Release Page, Updated On 2/18/12

They did not add a new release. They fixed, then re-broke the “Nature’s Collection Fundraiser” link for some mysterious reason, left the broken “EPA Flea & Tick Topical Advisory” link up for a few weeks before ultimately removing it and saw fit to remove the “Hartz recalls Naturals® beef treats” link immediately, further proving their commitment to denial.

Much more to come.

---

UPDATE: HARTZ HAS BROUGHT BACK THEIR “BROKEN” EPA FLEA & TICK TOPICAL ADVISORY LINK AND HARTZ RECALLS NATURALS BEEF TREATS LINK.

---

If you visited the link above to Hartz Press Releases page you may have already seen this.

We’re sure it probably happened a while ago but; as of June 8, 2012 we noticed Hartz has chosen to bring back their “EPA Flea & Tick Topical Advisory” and “Hartz recalls Naturals® beef treats” press releases.

It is quite interesting to note, although Hartz has re-published these releases (and is well aware there were some “problems” with these links the last time they published them), the links are still “broken” despite showing no obvious reason for malfunctioning, other than intentional failure.

This, of course, is no surprise, seeing as how Hartz seems to specialize in creating products that intentionally fail.

---

Click this link for the next article in our Hartz “Executive Summary” exposé: Fun with Charts!

---